Yard MD blog: More on mushrooms

Lemon drops brighten the fall and winter woods

Dec. 16, 2013

Lemon drops are tiny, colorful fungi that almost seem to glow among the fallen logs on the forest floor. Growing in clusters, they range from bright lemon yellow to orange in color. ROB ZIMMER/Post-Crescent Media. / Rob Zimmer/Post-Crescent Media

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Post-Crescent Media

The off and on snow cover we've been experiencing over the past month still allows visitors to our forest and woodlands to explore the world of mushrooms and fungi.

One of the most colorful fungi of late summer and fall into early winter is the Lemon Drop.

These tiny fungi, with fruiting bodies that may only be 1/8 of an inch across, form large masses on fallen trees in the forest.

Colored a bright orange-yellow, hundreds of lemon drops together upon a fallen log create a spectacular sight, even in the darkest forests. Combined with colorful evergreen mosses and clubmosses and the effect is stunning.

These fungi tend to grow only upon dead hardwood trees, often stripped of bark. A similar type of fungi grows upon fallen acorns and other forest floor debris.

There are a number of brightly colored fungi that decorate the forest floor during summer and fall. The lemon drop is one of the most brightly colored of them all.